Record card



Oct. ll, 1949. R. E. PARIS 2,484,642

BECOR) CARD Filed Uc. 17, 1.945

INVENTOR.

Robe/" E. Par/'S 4ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 11, 1949 Robert E; l Paris,

nEconD om Tcaneck, Nl.- J., assi'gnort'o International-r Business: Machines Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporatimz ofy NewV York Application December 17, 1945, SerialNo. 635,555

3 Claims. 1;

The present invention relates to record` cards for controlling the operation of statistical machines.

The principal object of the' invention isto provide a record on which datav is recorded by the formation of conductive marks upon thesuriace of the record. Heretofore, in the formation of such marks, especially when they were m'a'de'manually as with conducting graphite or lnk, such marks were not uniform in' their conductivityV and, therefore, when sensed by vcontacting brushes or wipers were unreliable as current conductors between such Wipers.

An object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide a means for eiecting a more reliable mark on a record sheet in which the marks have a predetermined and uniform conductivity. To this end the record card or sheet is provided in each possible recording position with a preformed deposit of conductive material located to bridge a pair of sensing brushes, so that all marks are initially capable of completing a circuit connection between the brushes with uniform reliability. In order to render selected marks inactive or ineffective, an aperture, a perforation, or a slit is cut through the mark and extended through the record material to thereby cut the mark into two smaller marks, each of which contacts a brush. In this manner the circuit path is broken as current ow will be interrupted at the break. In positions where the mark remains unbroken, good conductivity is maintained and reliable circuit completion is assumed, since no manipulation of a pen or pencil `by a possible careless person can result in a poor deposit of conducting medium.

Other objects of the invention will be pointed out in the following description and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which disclose, by Way of example, the principle of the invention and the best mode, which has been contemplated, of applying that principle.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragment of a record sheet or card illustrating sets of conducting marks or lines arranged in groups for combinational recording of data.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of a single combinational grouping to more clearly show the manner in which a line is severed.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing a different type of severance.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view in which the line alone issevered without accompanying perforation of the record material.

Fig; 6" is a sectional view in which the line is disabled by covering it with a coating of insulation.

Referring toFig. 1, there are sets of five lines IfU suitably spaced on-the surface ofthe card II and these are arranged-to pass related pairs4 of sensing brushes I2 as thev card isimoved by well knownl feeding mechanism, so that in each set the lines pass brushesfIZ in succession.

Theseflines or marks arepreprintedl or impregnated on the card with suitable conducting ink or adhesive conducting material in the form of metal foil.

^ The system of coding as used for ilustrative purposes employs a ve position code wherein, for example a 1 is recorded by maintaining the lowermost line conductive, a 2 is recorded by maintaining the next line conductive, etc. Letters may be recorded by maintaining various combinations conductive. This requires that those lines not included in the combination be broken or interrupted between the portions contacted by brushes I2.

The preferred method of eifecting such break is to cut a slit through the mark and record material as indicated at I3 in Fig. 4 with a beveled blade I4, so that the conducting deposit is compressed to 'form a suitable air gap. Another method is to cut or punch out a small hole as at I5 in Figs. 2 and 3, thus clearly dividing the mark into two distinct parts with an air gap therebetween. A still further method is to remove only a section of the mark as in Fig. 5 as by scraping or other suitable manner of erasing.

In the form of invention illustrated in Fig. 6, the mark tobe disabled is coated with a film of insulating material such as shellac, so that the brushes I2 in passing thereover will not be electrically connected.

In any of the foregoing cases the net result is to render a normally conductive line of definite electrical characteristics ineffective to pass current and leave the uncut lines in condition to control circuit completion between brushes I2 in accordance with the character represented by the selective severance of a line or lines I 0.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a single modification, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art Withtor, so that there is an initial discrete conducting area for each data position, and indicating data items on the sheet by a severance extending through the record of all conducting areas not related to the data item of the record to be made, each severed area being divided into at least two separate smaller areas out of electrical contact with one another.

2. An article arranged to form a data record from which electrical indications of several data items may be obtained by the use of electrical contacts corresponding tc each data. item, said article comprising a sheet of material which is substantially a non-conductor, preformed areas of conducting material located upon the surface of the sheet in position to be engaged by the contacts corresponding to each data item, said areas being conductive throughout to form part of a current path between said contacts, selected ones of said areas being each severed into at least two non-contacting smaller areas by perforations extending through the sheet to break the current path through said selected areas. v

4 3. An article arranged to form a data record from which electrical indications of several data items may be obtained by the use of electrical contacts corresponding to each data item, said article comprising a sheet of material which is substantially a non-conductor, preformed areas ,of conducting material located upon the surface of the sheet in position to be engaged by the contacts corresponding to each data item, said areas being conductive throughout to form part of a current path between said contacts, selected ones of said areas being each severed into at least two non-contacting smaller areas by removal of Dart vof the conducting material to break the current path through said selected areas.

ROBERT E. PARIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 758,861 Shaffer May 3, 1904 1,203,049 Recke Oct. 31, 1916 1,478,691 Bagge Dec. 25, 1923 1,573,174 Lasker Feb. 16, 1926 2,171,556 Higginbottom et al. Sept. 5, 1939 2,244,231 Armbruster June 3,/1941 2,350,382 Angel June 6, 1944 

